Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rota and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,657 in Rota, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Rota
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Rota Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Rota

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,657

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rota and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rota and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,657 in Rota versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Rota $1,657
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,448 in Rota versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Rota $2,448
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,240 in Rota versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Rota $3,240
Phuket $3,154

Living in Rota is roughly 30% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rota is 22% above, Phuket is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.95 €15.18

$4.47 ฿151

279.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.8 €56.2

$32.41 ฿1,093

93.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.31 €11.02

$8.81 ฿297

39.73%

Cappuccino

$2.20 €1.97

$2.83 ฿95.4

-22.26%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 €2.43

$0.87 ฿29.41

211.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 €1.71

$0.49 ฿16.65

289.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.45 €3.09

$2.56 ฿86.3

34.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 €4.13

$3.68 ฿124

25.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.66 ฿55.9

-28.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 €1.30

$1.46 ฿49.31

-0.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.50 ฿50.5

18.00%

Eggs

$3.33 €2.98

$2.09 ฿70.5

59.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.49 €13.87

$19.07 ฿643

-18.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.99 €7.16

$3.30 ฿111

142.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.24 €13.65

$10.91 ฿368

39.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 €2.30

$2.93 ฿98.9

-12.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$1.69 ฿57.0

16.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$2.25 ฿75.8

-21.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.30

$2.08 ฿70.0

23.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 €1.46

$1.51 ฿51.0

7.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.38 ฿46.52

50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.07 ฿35.96

17.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 €0.63

$0.52 ฿17.51

36.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 €5.77

$4.20 ฿142

53.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 €5.89

$18.79 ฿634

-65.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.82 ฿61.5

-34.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 €2.09

$2.84 ฿95.8

-17.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.67 €1.50

$1.45 ฿48.98

15.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$32.10 €28.75

$56.7 ฿1,912

-43.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.92 €1.72

$3.02 ฿102

-36.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 €1.10

$1.02 ฿34.33

20.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.49 €20.14

$3.69 ฿125

509.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.47 ฿49.76

21.77%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.6K €30.1K

$26.8K ฿903.4K

25.42%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$31.3K €28.0K

$26.7K ฿900.5K

17.25%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$165 €147

$96.4 ฿3,251

70.92%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$10.89 €9.75

$11.26 ฿380

-3.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.02 €22.41

$16.85 ฿568

48.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.69 €40.03

$67.2 ฿2,268

-33.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.51 €13.89

$10.73 ฿362

44.55%

Cinema Ticket

$9.48 €8.49

$7.50 ฿253

26.40%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$856 €766

$476 ฿16.1K

79.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,996 €8,952

$11.3K ฿380.0K

-11.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.4 €80.1

$62.4 ฿2,104

43.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.64 €34.60

$28.41 ฿958

36.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.7 €75.9

$94.3 ฿3,181

-10.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 €95.0

$85.8 ฿2,895

23.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$882 €790

$716 ฿24.2K

23.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$688 €617

$491 ฿16.6K

40.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,356 €1,215

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-29.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 €916

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-28.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,235 €2,897

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-22.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,227 €1,994

$3,045 ฿102.7K

-26.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.29

5.57

-40.93%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Rota: October 24, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Rota

$688 41.6%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 28.7% $197

Groceries & Markets

Rota

$270 16.3%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 1.2% $3.4

Eating Out

Rota

$244 14.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 50.1% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rota

$201 12.1%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 37.9% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Rota

$143 8.7%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 15.1% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Rota

$64 3.8%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 29.2% $19

Getting Around

Rota

$47 2.8%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 50.6% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $882 in Rota and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $63 in Rota vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Rota

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

00:09 12:09 AM

06:09 6:09 AM

6 h ahead of Rota

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

29,675

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Rota Phuket 10,780 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Rota
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Rota vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 23% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,485 in Rota and $1,917 in Phuket to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $882 in Rota versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $856 in Rota versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $63 in Rota. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,657 in Rota, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Rota. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.